Gloves made in China for the popular French brand Lacoste appear to have been sewn inside a factory where ethnic minorities face forced ideological and behavioral re-education, according to a U.S.-based labor rights group.
Lacoste, known for its iconic little green crocodile logo, says it halted shipments after learning of labor abuse in its supply chain from Washington, D.C.-based labor rights group Worker Rights Consortium. The group alleges that Uigher Muslims and other ethnic minorities are being forced to sew the Lacoste-branded gloves.
A Lacoste spokeswoman told The Associated Press that the Chinese factory had been visited by auditors who interviewed workers and didn’t report any concerns.
“Lacoste prohibits the use of forced, mandatory, or unpaid labor of any type,” company spokeswoman Nathalie Beguinot said, adding that 95 pairs of gloves from the factory in question were sold in Europe and that unsold gloves made at the Yili Zhuo Wan Garment Manufacturing Co. are currently warehoused.
Worker Rights Consortium executive director Scott Nova said Lacoste and any other buyers should have known better than to trust auditors who interview workers on site, where they can’t speak freely.
“Given the climate of terror the government has created in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, given its intensive efforts to conceal proof of forced labor from foreign eyes, and given the pervasive surveillance apparatus that makes a confidential conversation oxymoronic, no worker is going to tell a factory auditor that her employer and the government are breaking the law by forcing her to work against her will,” Nova said.
Officials at Yili Zhuo Wan could not be reached for comment. Last year, media and nonprofit group reports described forced labor and indoctrination of hundreds of people inside the factory.
The people were swept up as part of a massive Chinese government crackdown that by some estimates has locked away more than 1 million ethnic minorities, most of them Muslims, over the past three years, according to the reports. The Chinese government denies this. It has said that the detention centers are for voluntary job training and that it does not discriminate based on religion.
Last year the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies interviewed two former Yili Zhuo Wan workers, who said they were forced to study Mandarin and praise the government. One, a trained seamstress, said she was paid about $37 for her first month and a half of work.
“This is basically state-encouraged forced labor and part of a much broader pattern of extremely severe human rights violation,” said Amy Lehr, who co-authored a CSIS report that included claims of forced labor in Xinjiang. “It’s an attempt to eradicate a culture and religion.”
It’s illegal to import products of forced labor into the United States. Lacoste says the gloves went only to France. The AP and others have repeatedly tracked everything from sportswear to pajamas from detention camps in Xinjiang to the U.S. and Europe. Last fall, U.S. Customs and Border Protection slapped detention orders on several shipments from the region. The orders are used to hold shipping containers at the U.S. ports of entry until the agency can investigate the claims of wrongdoing.
Massachusetts Rep. James McGovern, who chairs the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, says he’d like to stop the import of all forced labor-made goods from the region.
“No one should profit,” McGovern said, “from the horrific human rights crimes being committed in Xinjiang.”
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Month: March 2020
Accounts of Russian Opposition Politician Navalny, Associate Frozen
Russian opposition politician Aleksei Navalny says his finances, along those of his wife, children, parents, and the head of his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK) have been frozen without explanation in a move to discredit and disgrace him.The staunch Kremlin critic wrote on his website on Tuesday that bank accounts and payment cards for his family, and for FBK head Ivan Zhdanov and his family, had been blocked.At the same time, Navalny said he obtained information that billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who has strong links to Russia’s leadership, was suing him for unknown reasons.According to Navalny and Zhdanov, a check of their banks online showed that they both had negative balances of 75.5 million rubles ($1,130,000).Navalny accused President Vladimir Putin of orchestrating the situation, alleging that by freezing his and his associate’s accounts, the Kremlin was trying to impede the FBK’s activities at a time when many Russians are becoming disillusioned with the country’s current leadership.Navalny and the FBK regularly publish materials exposing the luxurious properties and wealth of Russian officials, accusing them of corruption. None of the reports, however, have sparked legal investigations by the authorities.Navalny, a lawyer by training who has doggedly pursued evidence of corruption at the highest level of Russian politics, founded the FBK in 2011.Its investigations regularly provoke public uproar over the misuse of state funds, such as in 2017, when an FBK probe into Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s wealth became a catalyst for a wave of mass rallies that erupted across Russia.
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Coronavirus threatens both sides of the US Mexico border near El Paso
The southern US state of Texas is preparing for a possible coronavirus outbreak – and reaching out to neighbors on both sides of the US-Mexico border. A task force of public agencies and private groups from Texas, the neighboring state of New Mexico and the Mexican State of Chihuahua are sharing data and coordinating medical response protocols to handle any patients suspected of infection. VOA’s Celia Mendoza reports from the border city of El Paso
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7 People Killed by Powerful Tornado in US South
A powerful tornado struck the southeastern U.S. city of Nashville, Tennessee and surrounding areas early Tuesday morning, killing at least seven people and causing extensive damage.Video captured the tornado moving through downtown accompanied by occasional flashes of lightning, turning buildings to rubble. Emergency officials say they responded to reports of at least 40 structure collapses throughout Nashville. Officials opened several emergency shelters to house residents who were forced out of their homes, one of them a farmer’s market on the outskirts of downtown. The city’s schools were shut down Tuesday.Debris scattered across an intersection, March 3, 2020, in downtown Nashville, Tenn.The tornado also destroyed several hangars at a small municipal airport in west Nashville as it made its way into downtown. At least two of the deaths occurred in Nashville.The tornado first hit near the small town of Camden, located about 160 kilometers west of Nashville, killing one person. Additional people were killed when the twister moved into the small city of Cookeville, located nearly 140 kilometers east of the state’s capital.Political observers say the tornado is likely to affect voting in Tennessee, which is one of 14 states that are part of the so-called “Super Tuesday” primary.
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China Vows to Retaliate Against US Over Limits on Chinese State Media Personnel
China is threatening to retaliate against the United States over its decision to limit the number of state media personnel allowed to work in the U.S.U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced Monday a cap on citizens from five Chinese state-owned outlets — Xinhua News Agency, China Global Television Network (CGTV), China Radio International, China Daily Distribution Corp., and Hai Tian Development USA, Inc. The reductions, which take effect March 13, will limit the number of Chinese nationals working at these outlets from 160 to 100.Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters in Beijing Tuesday that the government strongly opposes the Trump administration’s decision. Zhao says the move effectively expels the journalists, and warned that China “reserves the right” to respond and take further measures.Hua Chunying, a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry, issued a far more ominous warning on her Twitter feed, saying “Now the US kicked off the game, let’s play.”Reciprocity? 29 US media agencies in China VS 9 Chinese ones in the US. Multiple-entry to China VS Single-entry to the US. 21 Chinese journalists denied visas since last year. Now the US kicked off the game, let’s play.— Hua Chunying 华春莹 (@SpokespersonCHN) FILE – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference after a signing ceremony between members of Afghanistan’s Taliban delegation and U.S. officials in Doha, Qatar, Feb. 29, 2020.“Our goal is reciprocity,” said Secretary Pompeo in a statement. “As we have done in other areas of the U.S.-China relationship, we seek to establish a long-overdue level playing field. It is our hope that this action will spur Beijing to adopt a more fair and reciprocal approach to U.S. and other foreign press in China.”A senior State Department official said even after this cap is implemented, the five Chinese state media groups continue to employ more Chinese personnel in the U.S. than foreign reporters at all U.S. media outlets in China, combined.
The U.S. has issued 3,000 I-1 visas to Chinese nationals working in the United States since 2015, said another senior Trump administration official. “By contrast, U.S. news outlets have only about 75 American or other non-Chinese citizens working for them inside of mainland China.”I-1 visas are issued by the U.S. government for representatives of foreign media to work in the United States.The visas that the U.S. issues to Chinese journalists have no duration of stay. In contrast, Beijing currently imposes duration of stay on all foreign reporters in China, some as short as 30 days. After 30 days, some foreign reporters in China have to reapply for an extension.The U.S. decision comes after the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) published its annual media freedoms report, “Control, Halt, Delete: Reporting in China Under Threat of Expulsion,” an in-depth examination of media freedoms in China in 2019.“The U.S. is taking this action in order to clearly communicate the severity of our concerns about the abusive, unfair and non-reciprocal treatment of international press in China,” said a senior State Department official on Monday.The FCCC report finds Chinese authorities have weaponized visas against the foreign press, issuing truncated press credentials to a dozen journalists in 2019, and expelling four correspondents from China since August 2019.A spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry said the FCCC report was “inappropriate,” and that China does not recognize the organization.The U.S. announcement Monday also comes after China expelled three Wall Street Journal reporters, a move seen as a punishment for a recent opinion piece published by the U.S. newspaper.In the past few weeks, Chinese citizen journalists who have been chronicling the coronavirus outbreak and seen as defiant to the Beijing government were said to have “disappeared.”
On Feb. 28, outspoken Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai and two prominent opposition politicians were charged with illegal assembly over a pro-democracy gathering in 2019. Lai, who has made financial contributions to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrators, was later released on bail.FILE -Svenska PEN’s Tucholsky Prize, awarded to detained Swedish bookseller Gui Minhai, is pictured in Stockholm, Sweden, Nov 15, 2019. (TT News Agency/Fredrik Sandberg via Reuters)On Feb. 24, China sentenced book publisher Gui Minhai, a Swedish citizen who disappeared in 2015 and was believed to have been abducted by Chinese agents in Thailand, to 10 years on charges of “providing intelligence” overseas.
“We’re witnessing an assault on free speech inside of China that goes even beyond what it was a decade ago,” said a senior Trump administration official on Monday.The five Chinese state media groups’ U.S. operations will have to disclose their personnel rosters, as well as hiring and firing decisions, according to the State Department. In addition, they are required to register properties that they rent or own in the U.S.China Daily is an English-language newspaper published by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Hai Tian Development USA distributes the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of CCP’s Central Committee.U.S. officials have said there is “an awakening” to what they call Chinese propaganda outlets operating on U.S. soil. For example, CGTV, formerly known as China Central Television America (CCTV America), was once warmly welcomed to the State Department in an event in 2013, but now faces scrutiny as a Chinese foreign agent.
At the State Department podium, Ma Jing, director general of CCTV America, touted CCTV as a bridge between the U.S. and China to promote knowledge and understanding.
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Philippine Police: News Conference Helped End Hostage Crisis
Philippine officials said Tuesday they allowed an armed man who took dozens of people hostage in a mall to hold a news conference to encourage him to free his captives and give police a chance to grab him as he talked with a throng of journalists.
Reporters said they were unaware that the hostage taker, a recently dismissed security guard at the mall who was identified by police as Alchie Paray, had a pistol with him when he faced the media as the crisis came to an end Monday night. But Manila’s police chief, Maj. Gen. Debold Sinas, said snipers were under orders to shoot Paray in the head if he drew his gun or made any hostile act while speaking to journalists.
The 10-hour hostage crisis ended peacefully when Paray walked out of the V-Mall in Manila’s upscale Greenhills district and freed his captives. Afterward, he faced TV cameras and journalists for several minutes and angrily voiced his grievances against his former superiors before police swarmed in and subdued him.
Criminal complaints will be filed against Paray, including illegal detention and attempted murder for shooting and wounding a mall security officer at the start of the crisis, officials said. The victim was recovering in a hospital.
During a news conference Tuesday, journalists said they were unaware that Paray still had a pistol concealed on his waist when police allowed him to talk to the media the night before. Sinas suggested it was deliberate.
“That’s why your questioning was spontaneous,” he said. “If I had told you, nobody would have stayed in front. Then it defeats the purpose.”
Sinas said police had no intention of putting any journalists at risk during the crisis and even tried to push them away from the scene but some insisted on getting close. Still, he apologized to reporters who he said may have felt “violated.”
Some of the gunman’s demands, including being allowed to speak before the media after releasing his hostages, were granted because authorities believed it would calm him down and bring the crisis to a peaceful end, said Mayor Francis Zamora of San Juan city, the section of the Philippine capital where the crisis occurred.
“It was all part of the strategy and in the end, it worked,” Zamora said. “Nobody died and all the hostages were freed.”
“He wanted his grievances heard. It was very simple so we gave it to him,” Zamora added.
Paray’s former security agency offered 1 million pesos ($20,000) for him to end the hostage taking but the gunman declined the offer, underscoring his desire to bring his grievances to the public, Zamora said.
Nearly 10 hours into the standoff, even with the mall surrounded by SWAT commandos and police, Zamora said he and other officials were concerned that fatigue and the gunman’s unstable disposition may drive him to detonate a grenade that he had with him in the second-floor office of the mall where he held his captives.
Police take hostage taker Archie Paray into custody as he speaks to media shortly after releasing all his hostages at the V-Mall in Manila, Philippines, March 2, 2020.Unaware of the police plan, many people, including journalists, wondered why Paray was given a microphone after freeing his captives and allowed to deliver a rambling speech with the police watching nearby.
At least 55 hostages were taken, including about 40 mall employees who walked out of the mall with Paray and were secured by policemen after he decided to end the standoff. Some of the hostages managed to sneak out while the hostage taking was in progress and told police that Paray had a gun and a grenade, police said.
Paray was dismissed as a mall guard after abandoning his job without notifying management but complained that he was maltreated, Zamora said.
At one point during the crisis, Paray was allowed to use his cellphone to deliver a message to mall guards and the media, expressing his anger over a change in his work schedule when he was still a guard and accusing some of his superiors of corruption.
Granting another demand by Paray, six officers in charge of overseeing the mall’s security were asked to apologize to the suspect at a news conference and tendered their resignations.
The shopping complex, popular for its restaurants, shops, bars and a bazaar, lies near an upscale residential enclave, a golf club and the police and military headquarters in the bustling metropolis of more than 12 million people, where law and order have long been a concern.
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Artificial Intelligence Monitors and May Protect Firefighters
Firefighters who run into burning buildings or attack wildfires face considerable risks despite their protective gear. Until recent trials in Spain, central command centers had no way to monitor the health of their teams. VOA’s Arash Arabasadi reports that recently changed because of one inventive firefighter and a large cash prize.
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Can Russia and Turkey Step back from the Brink in Syria?
For nearly five years, Russia has managed to balance a delicate alliance of rivals in Syria — joining Iran in backing Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad while partnering with Turkey – Damascus’s enemy – to tackle the Islamic State. The latest flareup of fighting in Syria’s Idlib province — where Moscow’s allies in Damascus are engaged in an increasingly bloody standoff with Turkish forces — could undermine the Kremlin’s growing clout as a Middle East power broker, say some experts. From Moscow, Charles Maynes reports.
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National Weather Service Confirms Tornado near Nashville
At least two tornadoes touched down early Tuesday in central Tennessee, including one that caused damage near downtown Nashville.The tornado near downtown reportedly stayed on the ground into Hermitage, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) east of the city.A video posted online from east Nashville showed what appeared to be a well-defined tornado moving quickly across the city. Lightning repeatedly flashed while much of the city was in the dark. The whir of the wind could be heard gusting after the tornado moved out of sight.A reported gas leak forced an evacuation of the IMT building in the Germantown community, according to WSMV-TV. Photos showed dozens of people in the street carrying their belongings not long after the tornado moved through the city.Two tornado warnings in Putnam County, east of Nashville, were reported a short time later. The National Weather Service said the tornadoes were confirmed on radar.Jeff Roberts of the Elections Commission said in a statement early Tuesday that information about damage to polling stations is being collected as polls open for Super Tuesday. Any voter in Davidson County whose assigned precinct has been impacted may vote at the Election Commission Offices, the statement said. Polls open at various times, starting at 7 a.m. CST, depending on the county.The storm system was forecast to bring an isolated tornado, damaging winds and large hail, news outlets reported. Heavy rain was expected to impact Gulf Coast states over the next several days, according to WTVF-TV.There were no immediate reports of injuries.
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55 Years After ‘Bloody Sunday,’ Fight to Vote Marches On in Selma
In 1965, hundreds of voting rights demonstrators in Selma were beaten and tear gassed when Alabama state police descended on a peaceful civil rights march at the city’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. The “Bloody Sunday” incident spurred even larger marches from Selma to Montgomery led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. which culminated in the 1965 Voting Rights Act. But as VOA’s Kane Farabaugh reports, as primary elections occur across the country, those gathered in Selma on Sunday to commemorate the 1965 bridge crossing say the fight for voting rights marches on.
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55 Years After ‘Bloody Sunday,’ Fight to Vote Marches On in Selma
Under a partly cloudy sky, amid the beat of drums and protest songs that filled the air, Brenda McCrae moved among the surging, massive crowd across the historic Edmund Pettus Bridge during this year’s Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee to complete the bookend of a journey that started, for her, in 1963 on the National Mall in Washington.”I was in D.C. when (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) made the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. This was on my bucket list, and I’ve done it,” she told VOA as the finished the March 1 bridge crossing event. “It’s really important.”On March 7, 1965, hundreds of voting rights demonstrators at the same location in Selma fell victim to tear gas and brutal beatings as Alabama law enforcement officers descended on the peaceful civil rights march.The “Bloody Sunday” incident spurred larger marches from Selma to Montgomery later that month led by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., which culminated in the 1965 Voting Rights Act signed by U.S. President Lyndon Johnson. Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate and former state Rep. Stacey Abrams, second from left, walks on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., March 1, 2020, to commemorate the 55th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday.”But now, as primary elections occur across the country, those gathered in Selma to commemorate the bridge crossing 55 years ago say the fight for voting rights marches on.”People are being suppressed,” said McCrae. “People are being taken off the voting registration. It’s just not right. We need to do something to fix it.”Bob Smith, who marched from Selma to Montgomery following Bloody Sunday, told VOA: “Places where you could go and register to vote have closed. Voting is free, but you have to have a piece of paper to show that you are a citizen of the country and where you were born.”He said just proving U.S. citizenship is a difficult task for many like him who were born in the South.Marchers hold up signs as they cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, in Selma, Ala., March 1, 2020.”Senior citizens, many of us don’t have any ID. We don’t even know where we were born. There’s no record of where we were born because we were born at home,” he said.”They tried to keep me from voting a few years ago, and I was the state senator here in Dallas county,” said retired Alabama Sen. Hank Sanders. “I went there, and my name had disappeared off the rolls, and they said, ‘Well, you must not have voted.’ And I said, ‘I know I voted, because I voted for myself!'”Sanders was among the protesters who marched from Selma to Montgomery in 1965.”Dr. King, I remember him clearly him saying, ‘How long?’ And we in the crowd would yell back, ‘Not long!’ Here we are 55 years later, still struggling to maintain, to expand and to fully exercise the right to vote,” Sanders said.Today, as an organizer of the annual Selma Bridge Crossing Jubilee, Sanders hopes the event raises awareness of present-day voting rights issues, and encourages everyone to exercise the hard-fought right to cast a ballot.”The message of this event is that it’s important to know how you struggled,” Sanders said. “It’s important to know how you overcame. It’s important to know where you are going. And it’s also important to know where all of this is in relationship to the present. The people who take it for granted are generally the people who don’t vote.” That message is one of the reasons why, ailing and frail under treatment for pancreatic cancer, one of the leaders of the original march in Selma made a surprise appearance on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.Georgia Congressman John Lewis was direct in his appeal to the massive crowd, among them Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Elizabeth Warren and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who have ended their presidential runs.U.S. Rep. John Lewis speaks to the crowd as they cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge, in Selma, Ala., March 1, 2020.”We must go out and vote like we never, ever voted before!” Lewis exclaimed to rousing cheers from those within earshot of his message.Bloomberg, who has come under fire from minority communities for policing practices under his leadership in New York City, spoke to Voice of America before addressing the audience at a pre-march church service at the historic Brown A.M.E. Chapel in Selma, where the 1965 marches began.”I’ve never been here before,” he explained. “I’ve read about Selma over the years.”This was an opportunity to come, Bloomberg said, not only because he was invited but also to make sure what happened in Selma in 1965 “doesn’t happen again. The same thing as 9/11. You can grieve, but you need to make sure this is the last time.”For 9-year-old Darrell Walker, the events in Selma aren’t just a history lesson, or a festival, or a campaign stop. It’s his home.”I marched across the bridge, and it was very fun to see all the candidates like (former Vice President) Joe Biden and Mike Bloomberg,” he said.While he is too young to vote, Walker aspires to stand on the shoulders of those who fought for civil rights that makes his dreams a possibility today.”I would like to be a president one day to help out my community, and help out the neighborhoods that are struggling and stuff,” he said.It’s a struggle Walker sees firsthand. While massive crowds turn out for the jubilee, since Bloody Sunday, Selma has lost population.Over 40% of those who still reside here live in poverty. The city and surrounding county also have high unemployment and higher-than-average crime rates, which is why many look beyond access to voting and search for leaders and presidential candidates who can help bring change to Selma and similar communities.
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Two Chinese Nationals Charged With Laundering $100M in Stolen Cryptocurrency
Two Chinese nationals have been charged by U.S. prosecutors with laundering more than $100 million worth of cryptocurrency that had been stolen by North Korean hackers in 2018.Tian Yinyin and Li Jiadong face charges of money laundering, conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business, according to an indictment unsealed Monday.U.S. authorities say North Korean hackers stole nearly $250 million from a virtual currency exchange in 2018 before laundering the money through hundreds of transactions in order to make the theft difficult to trace. The hackers are allegedly behind the theft of about $50 million from a South Korean virtual currency exchange in 2019. In addition to bringing criminal charges against Yinyin and Jiadong, prosecutors filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington to seize control of 113 virtual currency accounts and addresses that had been used by the duo and other co-conspirators.”Today’s actions underscore that the [Justice] Department will pierce the veil of anonymity provided by cryptocurrencies to hold criminals accountable, no matter where they are located,” assistant attorney general Brian A. Benczkowski said in a statement. Yinyin and Jiadong operated virtual currency transmission services but conducted business in the United States without a permit from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
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Trump Administration Caps Chinese State Media Personnel in US
The Trump administration is limiting the number of Chinese state media personnel allowed to work in the United States, citing Beijing’s “long-standing intimidation and harassment of journalists.”U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday announced a cap on People’s Republic of China (PRC) citizens from five Chinese state-owned outlets — Xinhua News Agency, China Global Television Network (CGTV), China Radio International, China Daily Distribution Corp., and Hai Tian Development USA, Inc.These entities together currently employ about 160 Chinese nationals. Effective March 13, the reductions will bring this number to 100, according to the State Department.Chinese citizens working for other media organizations in the U.S. are not affected by the cap.On Monday, Zhang Jun, Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, said the U.S. should not interfere with the work of Chinese journalists.”We have some differences, but we do not think it is appropriate for the United States to take steps in interfering with the work of journalists coming from China,” he said at a news conference to mark China’s presidency of the U.N. Security Council in March.Foreign reporters in ChinaThe five entities are determined by the U.S. as “explicit propaganda organs of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)” and had been previously designated by the State Department as foreign missions of the Chinese government.FILE – A worker changes copies of the People’s Daily newspaper, distributed by Hai Tian Development USA, in a public reading display at a park in Beijing, Nov. 20, 2015.”Our goal is reciprocity,” Pompeo said in a statement. “As we have done in other areas of the U.S.-China relationship, we seek to establish a long-overdue level playing field. It is our hope that this action will spur Beijing to adopt a more fair and reciprocal approach to U.S. and other foreign press in China.”A senior State Department official said even after this cap is implemented, the five Chinese state media groups continue to employ more Chinese personnel in the U.S. than foreign reporters at all U.S. media outlets in China, combined.The U.S. has issued 3,000 I-1 visas to Chinese nations working in the United States since 2015, another senior Trump administration official said. “By contrast, U.S. news outlets have only about 75 American or other non-Chinese citizens working for them inside of mainland China.”I-1 visas are issued by the U.S. government for representatives of foreign media to work in the United States.The visas that the U.S. issues to Chinese journalists have no duration of stay. In contrast, Beijing currently imposes duration of stay on all foreign reporters in China, some as short as 30 days. After 30 days, some foreign reporters in China have to reapply for an extension.Media freedomsThe U.S. decision comes after the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of China (FCCC) published its annual media freedoms report,The U.S. announcement Monday also comes after China expelled three Wall Street Journal reporters, a move seen as a punishment for a recent opinion piece published by the U.S. newspaper.Missing journalistsIn the past few weeks, Chinese citizen journalists who have been chronicling the coronavirus outbreak and seen as defiant to the Beijing government were said to have “disappeared.”Media mogul Jimmy Lai leaves a police station after being arrested for illegal assembly during the anti-government protests in Hong Kong, China, Feb. 28, 2020.On Feb. 28, outspoken Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai and two prominent opposition politicians were charged with illegal assembly over a pro-democracy gathering in 2019. Lai, who has made financial contributions to Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrators, was later released on bail.On Feb. 24, China sentenced book publisher Gui Minhai, a Swedish citizen who disappeared in 2015 and was believed to have been abducted by Chinese agents in Thailand, to 10 years on charges of “providing intelligence” overseas.”We’re witnessing an assault on free speech inside of China that goes even beyond what it was a decade ago,” a senior Trump administration official said Monday.The five Chinese state media groups’ U.S. operations will have to disclose their personnel rosters, as well as hiring and firing decisions, according to the State Department. In addition, they are required to register properties that they rent or own in the U.S.China Daily is an English-language newspaper published by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Hai Tian Development USA distributes the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of CCP’s Central Committee.U.S. officials have said there is “an awakening” to what they call Chinese propaganda outlets operating on U.S. soil. For example, CGTV, formerly known as China Central Television (CCTV), was once warmly welcomed to the State Department in an event in 2013, but now faces scrutiny as a Chinese foreign agent. At the State Department podium, Ma Jing, then-director general of CCTV, touted CCTV as a bridge between the U.S. and China to promote “knowledge and understanding.”
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Half of World’s Sandy Beaches at Risk from Climate Change
Scientists say that half of the world’s sandy beaches could disappear by the end of the century if climate change continues unchecked.Researchers at the European Union’s Joint Research Center in Ispra, Italy, used satellite images to track the way beaches have changed over the past 30 years and simulated how global warming might affect them in the future.“What we find is that by the end of the century around half of the beaches in the world will experience erosion that is more than 100 meters,” said Michalis Vousdoukas. “It’s likely that they will be lost.”The study, published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change, found that the extent to which beaches are at risk depends on how much average global temperatures increase by the year 2100. Greater temperature increases mean more sea level rise and more violent storms in some regions, causing more beaches to vanish beneath the waves.“The projected shoreline changes will substantially impact the shape of the world’s coastline,” more than a third of which is sandy beach, the authors wrote.Beaches are valuable for recreation, tourism and wildlife, while also providing a natural barrier that protects coastal communities from waves and storms.Many coastal areas, including beaches, are already heavily affected by human activity such as seashore construction and inland dams, which reduce the amount of silt flowing into oceans that’s crucial for beach recovery.Some countries will be more affected than others, the researchers said. Gambia and Guinea-Bissau in West Africa could lose more than 60% of their beaches, while predictions for Iraq, Pakistan, the island of Jersey in the English Channel and the Pacific island of Palau are similarly dire.Australia would be hardest-hit in terms of total beach coastline lost, with over 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) at risk. The United States, Canada, Mexico, China, Iran, Argentina and Chile would also lose thousands of kilometers (miles) of beach, according to the study.Andres Payo, an expert on coastal hazards and resilience at the British Geological Survey, said that while the study’s methods were sound, its claims should be treated with caution.“There are many assumptions and generalizations that could change the outcome of the analysis both qualitatively and quantitatively,” said Payo, who wasn’t involved in the study.However, Vousdoukas said the amount of beach loss estimated by his team was in fact “a bit conservative” and could be higher.The group considered two different warming scenarios _ one in which average global temperatures rise by 2.4 degrees Celsius by the end of the century and another that predicts an increase twice as high. The Paris climate accord’s most ambitious target, of capping warming at 1.5 C, wasn’t considered because scientists consider it unlikely to be achieved, Vousdoukas said.The study’s authors calculated that up to 40% of shoreline retreat could be prevented by reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that are driving climate change, but said that large and growing populations living along the coast will also need to be protected through other measures.Citing the example of the Netherlands, which has battled the sea for centuries and even reclaimed substantial areas of low-lying land, the authors said “past experience has shown that effective site-specific coastal planning can mitigate beach erosion, eventually resulting in a stable coastline.”
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Greece Grapples With New Migration Crisis
Authorities in Greece are facing the biggest mass migration push in years and the government in Athens is laying blame with Turkey.Greece is beefing up its defenses along its land and sea borders with its neighbor; but, the heightened controls are starting to take a deadly toll.On Monday, Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas openly accused Turkey of engineering an organized invasion after Ankara opened its border to allow migrants to pass through to the West.Petsas said Greece is being targeted with an illegal attempt to violate its borders and will repel any such efforts.Authorities have already beefed up border controls and repeatedly tear-gassed asylum-seekers trying to enter Greece.Police block a road as migrants look on during clashes outside the Moria refugee camp on the northeastern Aegean island of Lesbos, Greece, March 2, 2020.And on the high seas, the Greek Coast Guard has been pushing back scores of rubber rafts packed with migrants.Turkish authorities have suggested those maneuvers may have caused the drowning of a young Syrian boy Monday. Greek officials said the child died after the boat in which he was traveling capsized off the island of Lesbos. Authorities tell the Reuters news agency the boat had been escorted to Lesbos by a Turkish vessel.Lesbos residents, meanwhile, staged protests, calling on police to block migrants from setting foot on the island.The residents say they are still reeling from an earlier migration crisis, and after seeing their economies shattered and tourism related-business fall by 60% … they want the 25,000 remaining refugees to leave.The island’s mayor explains. Stratos Kytelis said the government in Athens needs to “heed our demands and safeguard our interests also.”He said if that does not happen, the people of Lesbos will take the situation into their own hands.Nearly 60,000 migrants and refugees illegally crossed to the Greek islands from Turkey last year, roughly double the rate recorded in 2017 and 2018, according to the U.N. refugee agency. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has in the past warned Europe to share the refugee burden or face a new wave of migrants, as Turkey fears a new influx of Syrian refugees fleeing war. Turkey is hosting more than 3.5 million Syrians.
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Esper: U.S. to Start Initial Troop Pullback From Afghanistan
Defense Secretary Mark Esper says he has given the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan the go-ahead to begin the initial withdrawal of U.S. troops.
Speaking at a Pentagon news conference Monday, Esper said he was not sure whether the drawdown had begun, but said it is required to start within 10 days of the signing on Saturday of a peace deal with the Taliban. Esper said Gen. Scott Miller, the U.S. commander in Kabul, has the authority to begin withdrawal of forces to about 8,600 from the current total of nearly 13,000.
“We are going to show good faith and begin withdrawing our troops,” Esper said.
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said there is no expectation that violence in Afghanistan will “go to zero” quickly, following the U.S.-Taliban peace agreement announced on Saturday.
Esper said the U.S. expects violence will “taper off,” leading to a start by March 10 of peace negotiations among Afghan groups, including the Taliban.
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Malawi Parliament Okays Cultivation of Cannabis
In Malawi, parliament has passed a bill which allows cultivation of cannabis for industrial and medicinal purposes. Backers of the bill say cannabis will boost the economy, which is largely dependent on tobacco. Anti-drug campaigners and religious conservatives say the move will encourage recreational use of marijuana.Former lawmaker Boniface Kadzamira first brought the cannabis bill to parliament in 2014 amid opposition from fellow parliamentarians.Now, Kadzamira says he feels vindicated.“I am very happy that finally the bill has passed because when I was starting this issue people thought I was crazy,” he said. “They called me names. The national assembly, in fact, the first day laughed at me; they booed at me. But I was determined because I had the facts on my fingertips.”Kadzamira says the facts included research showing that hemp — a non-drug product of cannabis — can be used to produce soap, lighting oil, medicines and other useful products.Malawi is now one of five southern African countries — along with Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho and South Africa — that have legalized industrial hemp. South Africa went a step further in 2018 by decriminalizing recreational use of cannabis.Various varieties of the industrial hemp which was grown on trial basis at Chitedze Research Station in Lilongwe. (Lameck Masina/VOA)Ben Kalua is an economics professor at Chancellor College of the University of Malawi. He says legalization will help the country diversify its agriculture-based economy.“It’s economically viable because it has a very long value chain. It has so many by-products of industrial hemp including fiber for construction. There are all products that can be derived from that plant compared to tobacco,” he said.Malawi has long relied on tobacco, which accounts for about 13 percent of its gross domestic product and 60 percent of its foreign exchange earnings.Over the years, however, tobacco prices per kilogram have fallen, largely because of anti-tobacco campaigns and fewer people smoking.Tobacco farmers like Hartley Changamala say they feel they now have an alternative.He says, “Some of us are growing tobacco because we don’t have an alternative crop to bring us income. But those who knew that tobacco farming has now become useless have stopped. So with legalization of the industrial cannabis, I feel I can benefit a lot as a farmer.” Anti-drug campaigners and religious conservatives continue to argue that legalizing cannabis will encourage recreational use of marijuana.Nelson Zakeyu, an executive director for the NGO Drug Fight Malawi, says, “Why I am saying this is that there is very minimal difference in appearance between the two: Indian hemp [marijuana] and this industrial hemp. So that’s where the danger is, because many will be [taking] the Indian hemp as if they are taking the industrial hemp. So, we will end up having abnormal citizens in the country.”Researchers say industrial hemp has a very low amount of the substance in marijuana which makes people high.Malawian President Peter Mutharika has until March 19 to sign the cannabis bill into law. The president has not indicated what he will do.
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Democratic Campaign Expands With Super Tuesday Voting
The competition for the Democratic presidential nomination expands significantly Tuesday with voters in 14 states casting their ballots in support of the candidate they want to oppose President Donald Trump in the November national election.About one-third of the delegates that will be awarded during the state-by-state voting process are up for grabs Tuesday, including the biggest pot of candidates at stake in the western state of California.After one-off contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, the so-called Super Tuesday event brings a national tone to the nomination process, with voters in western, southern, northeastern and midwestern states all taking part on the same day, along with those in the U.S. territory of American Samoa.Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign event, Feb. 28, 2020, in Springfield, Mass.Frontrunner Sanders
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders leads the race with 58 pledged delegates so far. He could get a big boost from voters in California and Texas where polls showed him leading all other candidates.The third-biggest prize Tuesday is the state of North Carolina, where polls showed Sanders in a tight battle with former Vice President Joe Biden.Biden is fresh off a win Saturday in the primary in neighboring South Carolina, and now has earned 50 pledged delegates.Sitting in third place in the delegate count is Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who earned all eight of hers a month ago in Iowa before a series of disappointing finishes. She is in a tight race in Massachusetts with Sanders, according to recent polls.Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar is the only other active candidate with any delegates — seven — and is expected to do well in her home state.Besides expanding to a larger number of states, Tuesday’s voting comes at a time of change in the race.Democratic presidential candidate former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg campaigns Feb. 29, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn.Buttigieg, Steyer withdraw
Former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg announced Sunday he was ending his campaign for president. He ascended from little-known status to win the Iowa caucuses and finish a close second place in the New Hampshire primary.Billionaire Tom Steyer also ended his campaign after finishing in third place, with no delegates, in South Carolina where he had hoped his strongest polling could yield positive results.Bloomberg
In an addition to the race, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is appearing on ballots for the first time. He joined the race months after his competition and decided to skip contesting the four February states in order to focus his early campaign on Super Tuesday. The billionaire spent $400 million on a massive ad campaign targeting Super Tuesday states.The other states holding contests Tuesday are Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont and Virginia.Sorry, but your browser cannot support embedded video of this type, you can
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After Taliban, Will Al-Shabab Negotiate?
The Taliban and the United States have reached an unlikely agreement which will allow some U.S. troops to leave Afghanistan, and pave the way for a dialogue with the Afghan government for what could be a historic process to solve the country’s long-running conflict.In Somalia, some observers wonder: Could this be a model for ending wars waged by jihadist groups like al-Shabab’s battle for a strict Islamist state? Would al-Shabab even be willing to negotiate?Al-Shabab supports the Taliban and calls its leader the “Amir al-Mu’minin” (Leader of the Faithful). But experts are split on whether the group will follow the Taliban’s example and open talks with the African Union, which has troops in Somalia, and AU forces’ host, the Somali government.A leading Salafi scholar who tried to mediate talks between al-Shabab and the Somali government in 2009 says the group is now more extreme than ever before and is unlikely to accept a negotiated settlement.
“No, I don’t expect it,” said Sheikh Ali Warsame, when asked whether al-Shabab will be open to negotiation.Warsame is not just any negotiator. He is the co-founder and first leader of the now-defunct al-Itihad al-Islam, a Salafi organization that produced many al-Shabab leaders, including the group’s current emir, Ahmed Diriye, also known as Abu Ubaidah.Warsame told VOA Somali that during his negotiations, the impasse came from two sticking points, one ideological and one political. On the ideological front, many of the group’s leaders were not willing to step back from the Takfir ideology, which drives the group to label everyone in the government and its supporters as having abandoned Islam.
“I don’t think it’s even possible from them. They see all in the government as apostates. It’s not possible,” Warsame said.On the political front, al-Shabab refused to negotiate unless AU troops leave the country. Warsame and other negotiators rejected this.
“To demand withdrawal of troops before the government stood on its feet was like saying, ‘Let me conquer you,’” said Warsame, who believes al-Shabab is even more hard-line today.Other scholars argue that the group can be convinced to negotiate.Afyare Elmi, an associate professor of security studies at Qatar University, believes negotiations with al-Shabab are still possible, despite a missed opportunity in 2009.
“In principle, it’s inevitable to negotiate with al-Shabab,” he said. “The only other option is to defeat them.”Elmi believes the group accommodates elements with different opinions, and says he does not think all of them have the same ideological position.”First of all, putting all of al-Shabab into one category and say this is what they all believe, I think they are not all on the same opinion,” he said. “There are many people who do not have that opinion [seeing government supporters as apostates]. Those would be empowered, debated and engaged through dialogue.”
Another scholar, Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Salad, believes al-Shabab is misunderstood. He says al-Shabab is preoccupied with global ambitions, not local problems.
“This is a transnational organization which is a branch of al-Qaida, which wants to solve a global issue,” said Salad, chairman of the Somali Ulema Council. “It’s questionable whether the situation is in their hands because they are directed from outside. The leader of al-Qaida makes the decisions. This is not a Somali issue.”Other experts believe dialogue can only be one part of a multifaceted approach to solving the challenges jihadism presents to Somalia.Ibrahim Aden Nadara, a former al-Shabab regional education chief, defected four years ago. Since then, he moved quickly into politics and was a member of the electoral commission for the Jubbaland region last year. He says scenarios that could have forced al-Shabab to negotiate are missing.“What compels one to negotiate is either reduction in finances, weakness in strength or to realize that it cannot achieve its goals through the barrel,” he said. “These three scenarios don’t apply to them — they are carrying out attacks. They still control areas, and maybe they are amassing more finances than before.”Al-Shabab has never called for a cease-fire in its entire history. The group also seems to be extremely suspicious about having a dialogue. Only once, in January 2018, did it publicly comment about its position on dialogue. At that time, spokesman Ali Mohamud Dhere said dialogue is “more dangerous than the weapons of mass destruction.””We heard from the infidels and apostates repeatedly stating that they are open to talks with the mujahedeen,” he said. “This is how the infidels use dialogue, as an approach to misguide the Muslims and destroy Muslim causes.”He said the aim was to divide (the Mujahedeen) into groups, “so that they can support the group they see as moderates.”
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Syrian Government Recaptures Strategic Town of Saraqeb from Turkish-Backed Rebels
Syrian government forces have recaptured the strategic town of Saraqeb on the Damascus to Aleppo highway, one day after Turkish fighter jets reportedly shot down two Syrian government SU-24 warplanes. Damascus is also claiming it shot down three Turkish drones. Syrian state TV showed its correspondent standing next to the strategic Damascus to Aleppo highway, which crosses through the center of the town of Saraqeb, as several rockets exploded in the distance. The Syrian Army said it had recaptured the town and the highway, which it lost to Turkish-backed rebels last week.Qatari-owned Al Jazeera TV (Arabic) claimed that rebels “continue to control the outskirts of Saraqeb and that fighting has not ended.” VOA could not independently confirm the claim. Syrian TV reported that “Turkish-backed forces keep trying to block the advance of government troops as they attempt to reopen the country’s strategic highway grid.”A Syrian army officer told Syrian TV that his men were trying to reopen the highway to the coast, which also passes through the same area.He says his men are continuing to push forward, despite attacks by Turkish forces and Turkish drones, and that the battle is over reopening the M4 highway from Aleppo to the Syrian coastal city of Latakiya.Meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told supporters Monday that Turkey has exacted a heavy toll on Syrian government forces.He claims that Turkish troops have destroyed 135 regime tanks, 22 armored vehicles, 45 artillery pieces, 44 multi-barrel rocket launchers, five air defense systems, four mortars, 29 pickup-mounted antiaircraft batteries, nine ammunition depot buildings, two Syrian government warplanes on Sunday, and killed 2,557 Syrian soldiers, at last count.
Erdogan claimed he was receiving numerous phone calls from world leaders, including German Prime Minister Angela Merkel, as well as a visit Monday from Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. Both Russia and Turkey confirmed that Erdogan would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Thursday.
Arab media reported that the Russian Defense Ministry warned Turkey Monday that it can “no longer guarantee the safety of Turkish planes inside Syria, due to the closure of Syrian airspace by the government.” At least one Turkish drone was shot down near Idlib over the weekend.Migrants walk to reach Pazarakule border gate, Edirne, Turkey, at the Turkish-Greek border, March 1, 2020.As thousands of refugees attempted to cross into Greece after the Turkish government transported them to the border over the weekend, Greek government spokesman Stelios Petsas called the influx of migrants at the border “an active, serious, severe and asymmetrical threat to the national security of the country.”
Arab media broadcast amateur video of a young Syrian man who appeared to have died after reportedly being shot by Greek border police. VOA could not independently confirm the claim.
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Russian Court Sends Opposition Activist Kotov’s Case to Moscow Appeals Unit
A Russian court has sent the high-profile case of an opposition activist imprisoned for repeatedly taking part in unsanctioned rallies to an appeals unit of the Moscow City Court.Moscow’s Court Of Cassations No. 2 said on March 2 that it rejected a motion by Konstantin Kotov’s lawyers and prosecutors to annul a four-year prison term handed to the activist.His lawyers wanted the case against their client to be closed and the charge to be dropped, while prosecutors had asked the court to cut the prison term to one year.The court also ruled that Kotov must be kept in pretrial detention until May 2.The 35-year-old computer programmer was detained on August 10 for taking part in a rally to demand that opposition and independent candidates be put on the ballot for the Moscow City Duma election that was held on September 8.The barring of the would-be candidates sparked a wave of protests in Moscow and elsewhere in Russia last summer, some of which were violently suppressed by police as thousands were briefly detained, sparking international condemnation.Kotov was one of several activists punished with prison following the protests in what has been dubbed the Moscow Case.His conviction and sentencing on September 5 sparked a public outcry in Russia because of its severity.On January 25, amid protests against Kotov’s imprisonment, President Vladimir Putin ordered the Prosecutor-General’s Office to review the legality of the sentencing.Two days later, Russia’s Constitutional Court ruled that the case must be reviewed.
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Malaysia’s New PM Says No ‘Traitor’ After Turmoil
Malaysia’s new prime minister insisted Monday he was no “traitor” after taking power without an election and with support from a scandal-tainted party, following political heavyweight Mahathir Mohamad’s shock resignation.“I know there are those who are angry with me – I am not a traitor,” Muhyiddin Yassin said in a televised address – his first extensive comments since being inaugurated Sunday.”I have a clear conscience. (I am here) to save the country from being battered by continued political uncertainty.”Malaysia was plunged into turmoil after Mahathir’s reformist “Pact of Hope” alliance, which stormed to a historic poll victory two years ago, collapsed and the 94-year-old resigned as premier.Mahathir then sought to come back as prime minister but lost out to low-profile, former interior minister Muhyiddin, who has backing from a coalition dominated by the multi-racial country’s ethnic Malay Muslim majority.He was named to the job by the king, who appoints the Southeast Asian nation’s premier after deciding who has most support from MPs.But there has been widespread anger that the democratically elected government was ejected, while Mahathir insists he had enough backing to be premier and has accused Muhyiddin of betrayal.- ‘For all Malaysians’ -Muhyiddin defended his legitimacy as premier, saying he had secured majority support from MPs.He also said he would “prioritize having a clean, corruption-free and efficient administration”.One of Muhyiddin’s coalition partners is the United Malays National Organization (UMNO), the lynchpin of a graft-riddled coalition ejected from power in 2018 after six decades.It is the party of disgraced ex-leader Najib Razak, who is accused of plundering state fund 1MDB. He and other senior UMNO figures are on trial for corruption but there are concerns the cases could be halted now the party is back in power.Muhyiddin is considered a Malay nationalist, and there are fears his government could push policies that worsen already tense relations between Muslims and the country’s ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities.But he insisted: “I am a prime minister for all Malaysians.”
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Le Parisien: 2 Patients Die of Coronavirus in Northern France
Two patients died of coronavirus in northern France, bringing the death toll in the country to four, Le Parisien newspaper said on Monday, citing the mayor of the city of Compiegne and other sources.”As of Monday, according to the latest information I have, there were another two deaths in the hospital of Compiegne,” Philippe Marini, the mayor of Compiegne, was reported as saying by Le Parisien.As of Sunday, France had 130 confirmed cases of the flu-like disease. The French Health Ministry did not return calls for comment.
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France’s Louvre Stays Shut Amid Staff Fears of Virus Spread
Tourists trying to visit the Louvre Museum on Monday are out of luck, as the world’s most visited museum stayed closed for a second straight day because of workers’ worries about the potential spread of the new virus.
Most of the Paris landmark’s 9.6 million visitors last year came from other countries, and the museum that houses the Mona Lisa and other treasures welcomes tens of thousands of people every day.
While unions held meetings with management and the Culture Ministry on Monday, disappointed crowds huddled under umbrellas outside the Louvre’s famed pyramid.
By afternoon no compromise had been reached, and the museum remained shuttered.
The French government on Saturday banned any indoor gatherings larger than 5,000 people to prevent the spread of the virus, so on Sunday, Louvre workers said that should apply to their workplace too and blocked the museum from opening.
About 250 Louvre workers, mainly those who guard the treasured artworks or greet visitors, voted Monday to stay off the job until management presents a clearer plan of how it’s dealing with the virus threat, said Andre Sacristin, a Louvre employee and union representative for its staffers.
He acknowledged that there have been no cases traced to the Louvre thus far, but said, “If tomorrow there is a case at the Louvre, we need to know the plan” for workers and visitors.
Some workers want masks, or for visitors to undergo temperature checks.
Addressing the frustration of tourists from around the world stuck in the rain, he said, “We regret this. It’s not our wish to close the Louvre. … What we want to welcome tourists is to have measures that protect them as well as us.”
The museum’s managing director, Maxence Langlois-Berthelot, said it’s “keeping a close eye on the situation and is ready to take action as and when necessary.”
He acknowledged the “legitimate concern” of the workers, but said the number of visitors in each room of the Louvre is well below 5,000 at any given time, so that doesn’t warrant closing the museum.
France has reported 130 cases of the virus, and more than half of the country’s regions now have at least one case.
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